


A Father's Return

by digimaniac33



Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen, Grief/Mourning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:48:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27480724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digimaniac33/pseuds/digimaniac33
Summary: Tai reconnects with Yang after his grief at Summer's passing nearly caused him to lose both his daughters as well
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	A Father's Return

“Come on, you stupid…” Tai muttered to himself, scrubbing at a particularly stubborn patch of food stuck to the pan he was cleaning. He didn’t want to spend his entire free day wrestling with dishes. He had two daughters to try and spend time with. Even if only one of them actually wanted that.

He sighed. Ruby was young enough that his extended bout of depression hadn’t fazed her too much - she was just happy to have any time with him at all. But Yang still treated him coldly, and he couldn’t blame her. After all, if he hadn’t sunk into that darkness, she and Ruby wouldn’t have nearly gotten themselves killed…

* * *

_She was gone. Sometimes that was the only thought he could muster. A woman he would’ve devoted the rest of his life to, someone who he’d put faith in again and again, and she was never coming back._

_There were days, sometimes, where he could drag his mind from the abyss of grief and interact with the rest of the world. Qrow was the best at bringing those days out of him, since he’d been there for all his history with her, but without someone to force him, Tai spent his time lost in his memories, trying to figure out how things could have gotten to this point. If there was anything he could have done to prevent this tragedy._

_There was never an answer. That didn’t stop him from searching._

_He was searching those memories one evening when he suddenly felt himself being pulled to his feet. Some part of him recognized it was Qrow. He seemed angry about something. Tai couldn’t bring himself to understand his words, though. It couldn’t be that important._

_Qrow growled, shaking him. That was new. He never got this physical trying to pull Tai out. The novelty was enough for Tai to at least try and comprehend what Qrow was saying. “Snap out of it, Tai! Your girls almost died today!”_

_That pierced through the fog surrounding Tai’s mind. “Yang? Ruby?” He couldn’t lose them too, that would be unbearable - “They’re - are they okay? What happened? Where are they?!”_

_“Yang tried to find Raven,” Qrow answered bluntly. “She thought Raven could be a parent for them, since they don’t have any right now.” With those harsh words, Qrow dropped Tai back into his chair._

_Tai leaned forward, cradling his head in his hands. Trying to find Raven? Yang had asked so many questions after overhearing Tai and Qrow talk about her, and Tai had thought it best to answer them, but… “I can’t believe - I should have never told her about Raven, that was such a stupid move… they’re okay?” He looked at Qrow pleadingly. “They’re not hurt?”_

_Qrow nodded. “I made it just in time to take down some Beowolves before anything could happen.” Tai fell back in relief. Thank whatever gods there were that Qrow had been there. If he’d lost his daughters after everything else… his heart couldn’t have survived, nor his mind. He would have become a true husk of a man, and no amount of friendship would have been able to bring him back from that brink._

_“Tai,” Qrow said, regaining his friend’s attention. “You can’t let this happen again. Those girls need someone to look after them, and I can’t be here all the time.” Qrow looked so guilty, so haunted when he said those words. The man put too much store in his Semblance. But he shouldn’t have to clean up Tai’s messes, either._

_Tai could feel tears falling from his eyes, but he nodded. “You’re right, Qrow. You’re right. It’s just…” When he imagined forcing himself out of bed every day just to confront another day without her, his willpower crumpled. “I can’t be the same as I was. I just can’t. Without her… I just don’t know what to do with myself.”_

_“There’s going to be an opening at Signal,” Qrow said unexpectedly. “I can’t be there as often anymore, Ozpin is going to need me going further afield. So I’m stepping down from being a permanent teacher, and you could do some good there.” He grabbed Tai’s shoulder, looking him straight in the eyes. “You can’t go away again, Tai. You need to find something to keep you in the here and now.”_

_Tai nodded, grabbing Qrow’s hand in desperate thanks. “You’re right. You’re so right. Thank you, Qrow. Thank you for saving them.”_ And for saving me, _he finished silently. He knew Qrow wouldn’t accept that kind of honesty if he spoke it aloud. He would still understand._

_Qrow squeezed his shoulder in reassurance. “Of course, Tai. Of course.”_

* * *

Tai shook himself back to the present. He still had a sink of dirty dishes to scrub. Even years later, he still lost himself in moments of reverie, remembering good times and bad while losing the present. He forced himself to focus on the sudsy dish in his hands. _You can’t go away, Tai,_ he berated himself. His girls needed him here.

In fear of leaving them too alone, he’d become almost overbearing in his protection of his daughters. That was far better than the alternative, but it hadn’t improved his relationship with his older daughter. Every day it seemed like she was just waiting for him to retreat inside himself again. He couldn’t blame her, either - some days it took everything he had to remain in the now.

His musings were interrupted by a sudden thumping noise from outside. He wiped his hands dry and headed outside, priming his Aura in case a Grimm had somehow made it all the way here. It was rare, but it had happened before. All he found, though, was Yang standing with a too-long stick in one hand slashing at a tree. He watched her try to swing it, but she over-committed and fell to the ground, repeating the thumping noise he’d heard before.

His girls wanted to be Huntresses. Ruby talked about it every time Qrow came by with more stories, or whenever she found a new book to read, or at the smallest mention of her mother. It broke Tai’s heart to imagine his baby girl fighting Grimm, but she was young still. There was time for her to grow into a different dream.

Yang, however, was more practical about her desire. She pushed Qrow to tell stories of how he fought, not just why, and she’d been trying to needle Qrow into teaching her how to fight. Both Tai and Qrow agreed she was too young, but it looked like she was starting to take matters into her own hands. In that moment, her resemblance to Raven was overwhelming, especially with the branch that she was clearly trying to use as a sword.

Tai sighed. He’d hoped Yang would give up on learning to fight, but if she was going to insist, he’d have to make sure she learned properly. “Your feet are too close together.”

Yang jumped at the sound of his voice, dropping her weapon in surprise. “Dad!” It had taken a while for her to call him by such a familiar title, and it was never Daddy anymore. As much as that stung, it was better than when she’d just ignored him. Even if her scowl hadn’t changed. “Leave me alone. I’ve almost got it.” She picked up her stick and swung again, feet still too close together. She didn’t trip herself this time, but it was a close thing.

Tai stepped closer. “Look, Yang-“

“No!” She swung her stick at him now. “I’m doing this myself! I don’t need you!” With that, she turned around and slammed her branch into the tree, shattering it into several pieces. “Argh!” She dropped to her knees, holding her left hand in pain.

“Yang! Let me see -“ Tai tried to reach for her hand, but Yang pulled away and ran into the cottage. He caught tears falling from her eyes as she passed him, but she didn’t say a word. Tai was left standing outside by himself, no idea what he was supposed to do.

* * *

“I just don’t know, Summer.” Tai stood in front of Summer’s cenotaph. Qrow was visiting, so Tai was taking the opportunity to talk things through with his wife. He knew she wasn’t there, but it helped to say it out loud, and he could almost imagine her responses. “I wish she wasn’t trying at all. I don’t want either of our girls going through what we did, but she won’t listen to a thing I say, either. I mean, I teach at Signal! That has to count for something, right?” He sighed. “If she won’t stop, then I want her to have the best chances possible, but I can’t force her to do what I say. Too much like Raven, in that way.” He chuckled. “I know, I know, too much like me, too. She probably got a fair bit of stubbornness from you, too. She really had no chance.” He stared out at the ocean. “I miss you, Summer. I don’t know how to make her listen, and I know you’d have the right answer. You always did, eventually.”

Looking at the horizon, he could just see Summer shaking her head at him. _Dummy,_ she’d say fondly, _If she won’t listen, don’t try and force her. Just show her the right way to go, and let her follow._

“Let her follow…” Tai whispered. A plan started to form in his mind. He smiled, still grieved by her absence, but there was an acceptance there now that he was still growing used to. “Thanks, Summer. Right again.”

* * *

The next day, he changed his routine. Instead of getting out of bed just before the girls, he woke up an hour earlier. Out in the yard, he went through his warm-up exercises, followed by a few forms he’d memorized. He usually did these at Signal just before class, but that was going to change.

By the time he finished, the girls were awake. He could hear Yang moving around in the kitchen. She probably assumed he wasn’t awake yet. He couldn’t blame her for that. All he could do is show how he’d changed.

He entered the kitchen through the back door. “Daddy!” Ruby cried, running to hug him. “You’re not sleeping, you’re awake! Yang said you were sleeping.”

Tai ruffled Ruby’s hair affectionately. “Not today. I’ve decided I’m gonna warm up for teaching here now, instead of at Signal.” He lifted Ruby up and placed her back on her chair, joining Yang at the stove. “I can take over now,” he said gently.

Yang looked at him, eyes too hard for her age, but she nodded and sat with Ruby. He’d take it.

* * *

That was how the next several weeks went - he woke up early, ran through his exercises and came inside to take over breakfast prep from Yang. As the routine settled in, he spotted a flash of blonde hair at the door sometimes when he turned fast enough, and Yang was obviously starting to prepare breakfast later and later. She was watching him. Now he just had to be patient.

One day while warming up, he saw Yang copying him in the kitchen. Her form was sloppy, since she was obviously trying to avoid him noticing her, but she was still following his lead. For the rest of his work that morning, he slowed down and exaggerated his moves. He kept them smooth, doing his best to make it look like just another way of training. Yang didn’t stop, so he considered it a success.

Weeks turned into months, and now he would catch Yang trying bits and pieces of forms whenever she didn’t have to watch Ruby. He took note of where she was struggling, and the next day he’d run that part of his form over and over again, letting her see just how it was supposed to go.

Soon, he watched her practicing in the yard. Her technique had vastly improved, but she was hitting the limits of what she could do by herself. It was time he started teaching her directly. He took a deep breath to steady himself, then walked silently up to Yang. Focused on her form, she didn’t see him coming until he was suddenly throwing a punch at her face -

\- that the next block in her form was designed to counter. Before she could process what he was doing, he threw out a kick, which was the next step the form was built to respond to. She stepped back as she should and flowed automatically into the counter punch, which Tai blocked and countered, leading to her next attack -

Tai led her through the rest of the form, proving how the moves she’d practiced worked against a real opponent. He pushed just hard enough to keep Yang moving, and she kept pace with him. He could feel her distrust melting away with every punch, so by the end she was fully focused on the flow from punch to block to dodge to punch. When the form ended, Tai smiled, and Yang (finally) smiled back.

“Again.”


End file.
